Critical+Analysis+of+Children's+Rhymes

Hannah Hernandez Liberty and Justice for All? In the United States, African Americans have been treated unfairly. One of the most famous poets during the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes, commonly wrote about not being treated equally because of the color of his skin. In his poem “Children’s Rhymes“, Hughes acknowledges the disadvantages and broken promises that go along with being African American in/around the 1940‘s. This poem is about racial inequalities and promises made by the United States that have been broken or ignored.

In the first two lines of the poem, Hughes, who is the narrator, immediately states that he isn’t like the white kids. “By what sends the white kids, I ain’t sent: I know I can’t be President”. In this line, Hughes is saying that he isn’t treated like white children and he knows that he has limitations on his future based solely on the color of his skin. This line establishes the known rules about blacks and whites. It establishes the knowledge that white children will be treated better and given things of a higher quality, while African American children are the subject of hateful comments.

In lines three through six of the poem, Hughes points out how the injustice in his life isn’t something that seems like a problem to the white children. He states “What don’t bug them white kids, sure bugs me: We know everybody ain’t free” explains the fact that Hughes and other African Americans notice the inequalities between them and white people. These inequalities are huge in the mind of the African Americans, but seem to go unnoticed by the white people. These lines show the obliviousness and carelessness of some white people in the 1900’s.

In the last five lines of the poem, Hughes questions the promise made by the Pledge of Allegiance. That promise being “Liberty and Justice for All”. Hughes points out that the Pledge says “For All”, however, he isn’t treated with liberty and justice, and neither are other African Americans of the time period. He writes, “Lies written down for white folks ain’t for us a-tall”. The guarantee for liberty and justice is applied to the white children but when it comes to the African Americans, it is ignored. Hence the title “Children’s Rhymes”. To Hughes, the promise of liberty and justice is treated as simply and insignificantly as a child’s nursery rhyme.

The inequality in the early 1900’s United States was immense. During the Harlem Renaissance, African American writers, musicians and artists made beautiful works that identified them with their race and some of the inequalities that came with it. Langston Hughes wrote about being an African American often, but in his poem “Children’s Rhymes“, Hughes shows how being treated unfairly based on his race is generally ignored by white kids. Hughes writes about liberty and justice and how, even though it was promised, it is fact, not given to all.